What is an Executor, and What are Their Responsibilities?

Being 90 years old found the prospect of applying for probate extremely daunting, the registrar of deaths told me to approach the “Bereavement Support Group” who in turn informed me of the web site to down load forms from, this I achieved (all 22pages), and commenced to fill in the answers required, got stuck on one question but the system would then not let me to advance to stage 2 until all was 100% on stage 1. Then phoned “You Can Do Probate” and a gentleman then proceeded to not only help with the unanswered question in Stage.1 but over the next two hours took me thro all the other stages, after which he told me to read very carefully thro the answers for any typo’s or anything not to my liking and to phone him (Giving me his personal phone no) if so. there was one item I was not happy with so made contact again, and he then very carefully took me thro the procedure to make these changes (could never achieved by myself) Then on the 24th July mailed all pages to the Probate Service and on the 14th August received my Probate Certificates Wunderbar

Really pleased to have come across this service. The system was easy to use and the support provided was really helpful when I wasn’t sure what info to enter. From my perspective the cost was negligible for the peace of mind the system and team provided. Probate was granted within 8 weeks. Highly recommended.

Superb, easy to follow instructions where data and calculations are generated for you once required fields are inputed. Advise was available quickly , in my case one concise call to Tom( many thanks). The grant of probate was approved by email in one week with no IHT. The formal paperwork takes a further ten days. 5* David

Simple to use the online tools and help to complete my application

Using your forms was really straightforward and you were on hand on the phone to help with any if our questions. The IHT calculation on IHT400 was straightforward and accepted by HMRC within 2 weeks. After then printing off and submitting your forms the probate accepted within 10 days!! Fantastic service.

This was the first Probate I’d applied for. Initially, I assumed I’d have no choice but to go via a solicitor who would have asked me to gather all the information required yet charge thousands of pounds for the service. After carrying out further research online, I came across the YouCanDoProbate website, read their Trustpilot reviews and made some other sensible checks. I phoned them and had an initial conversation with Tom who was friendly and knowledgeable and asked several questions about the estate (it was over the individual IHT threshold but would be using the Transferable Nil Rate Band of a pre-deceased spouse) and he confirmed the platform would be able to deal with this. I was a little nervous initially about whether this was the right way forward but decided to go for it, signed up and paid the £499 fee which gave me access to the platform via my usual web browser so no special software needed. From then on, it was a relatively straightforward administrative task of putting in the information required. I loved that it saved all the information so that if I was interrupted or had to stop, I could just go back to it later and pick up where I’d left off. It went through the estate details very logically – personal info of all those involved – the deceased, pre-deceased spouse, executors, beneficiaries then assets, liabilities, expenses, gifts etc. After filling in all the required information, the platform then generated the Estate Summary (in my case showing there was no inheritance tax to pay and confirming that I didn’t have to fill in a separate form to send to HMRC). It had autofilled all the relevant information I’d input in the previous sections and made all the calculations for me with a detailed breakdown as to how the figures were arrived at. When I needed help and a bit of reassurance on 4 occasions via support ticket email, requesting a callback for a specific time or calling directly, Adam and Tom answered my queries quickly and knowledgeably and I was fully reassured that the forms had been completed correctly. Once I was satisfied with the Estate Summary details, I was able to move on and the system generated the autofilled Probate form which I could download and print off for review before signing. If anything needed to be amended, it was possible to go back and do so throughout the entire process before completing one stage and moving on to another. While I chose to complete the forms over the course of several days, I think it would be possible to complete the whole process in a few hours if there were no interruptions. On Thurs 28th May, I posted off the PA1P probate form with all the other relevant documents required including the probate fee postal orders (so no time waiting for a cheque to clear). I used the 1st class Royal Mail tracked service which was delivered the next day. I received an acknowledgement of receipt email on Mon 1 June with a reference number, another email on Tues 2 June confirming that Probate had been approved and, finally, on Thurs 4 June, I received the Grant of Probate letter in the post, 4 working days after sending off the application. I was expecting to have to wait 3 or 4 months for a response and am truly amazed at the speed of the turnaround. I cannot thank YouCanDoProbate enough. It is an amazing service, worth every penny of the £499 cost and I highly recommend it.

Saved a lot of expense using YouCanDoProbate. Everything is easy to follow, could not have been simpler. You answer the questions, you print the generated forms, you send them off. Very glad I used this service.

Straightforward and easy to use, I’d recommend this to anyone. I’ve had to apply for probate on an estate with various investments, property and outstanding tax. I entered all information over a couple of days, prompted by they software. I think it would be hard to go wrong. I had questions answered very quickly either by phone or email. There was a slight glitch which resulted in incorrect tax form generation. I sent a query in on a service ticket and got a phone call over a weekend that resolved everything. My IHT400 and Probate were accepted and granted straight away. Providing you have all information about the estate to hand, this makes it very easy. Well worth the money. Thanks.

Having used a well known company previously to carry out a probate application and being very dissatisfied as it took 12 months (this was not a complex case) I was determined to apply myself this time around. However the government online system is not very user friendly and I found myself rethinking my approach. You can do probate were the perfect middle ground. The cost was considerably less and the availability of experts to consult with throughout the process was very reassuring. Before you go straight to a solicitor or an independent probate firm take a look at we can do probate. The biggest difference is that you are in control of the time frame . I will use them again if the event ever arises.

As it says; “You can do Probate” all be it with a little help from the team who are really great. I had my doubts initially but I have managed to complete all of the forms and get my application in for my Mothers estate, and I am in my 70S. It was interesting that funeral expenses are an expense rather than a liability but I suppose if we think about it, it is. Many thanks to the team. I can just wait and see how long it takes to get it from here.

System was priced sensibly and easy to use

The whole process was very straight forward.